


Hiccup Haddock Vs Toothless Night Fury

by UselessReptileWrites



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Astrid is amused but trying not to encourage them, Gen, Hiccup and Toothless bring out the worst in each other, Humor, probably not the most in character thing but it was fun to write and hopefully read as well
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-30
Updated: 2018-06-30
Packaged: 2019-05-28 16:20:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15053117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UselessReptileWrites/pseuds/UselessReptileWrites
Summary: After a run-in with some stink dragons, Toothless really needs a bath. However, said Night Fury disagrees with bathtime, which everyone else on Berk finds rather disagreeable. Hiccup is faced with the ultimate question: who will win, him or a Strike Class dragon?





	Hiccup Haddock Vs Toothless Night Fury

“Stink dragons? Really?” Snotlout grumbled as Berk came back into view. “Of all the dragons the gods made, they absolutely had to have stink dragons?”

“You do have to admit, their primary method of defense is effective,” Fishlegs said, voice strained from the fact that he was pinching his nose.

“What I want to know is why they had to be so effective!” He scowled down at Hookfang. “At least you have the smaller dragon. It’ll take me hours to scour the stink from his grubby hide.”

The Monstrous Nightmare grumbled, and a second later Snotlout was yelping from a seat that was suddenly just a tad too toasty.

“At least we’re almost there,” Astrid said. Hiccup wasn’t sure that Stormfly sped up from her rider’s urging or because she, too, wanted the stench off of her.

“Finally!” Ruffnut said, leaning forward in her saddle. “I’m sick of flying with Belch’s stench up my nose!”

Tuffnut whipped his head around to glare at her. “Excuse me,” he said, a hand to his chest, “That smell is clearly coming from Barf!”

“No, Belch just takes after his stinky rider!” With that, Ruffnut tried to kick Tuffnut in the shins. Tuffnut moved his leg just in time, and threw a punch of his own that missed by a mile.

As usual, Hiccup ignored this sibling squabble. Everyone else seemed similarly inclined. The twins rarely fell off their dragon during these brawls, so there was rarely a need to get involved.

“First thing I’m doing is giving Meatlug here a bath,” Fishlegs said as their dragons descended toward Berk’s docks. “How’s that, girl?” He patted Meatlug on her head.

Meatlug clearly liked the idea, as she wagged her tail and gave a great, big, toothy grin as the group landed on the docks with a series of thuds. The nearest Vikings glanced at them and then proceeded to wrinkle their noses and retreat as one.

Snotlout scoffed as he swung himself off of Hookfang’s saddle. “Well, I don’t think I am,” he announced, wiping his hands on his pants. “I’m leaving him outside until the next rainstorm.”

Hookfang glared at Snotlout and gave him a low snarl.

“Don’t you use that tone with me, mister.” Snotlout jabbed a finger at him. “If you weren’t so slow and gotten us hit by that stink stuff, you wouldn’t be staying outside, now would you?”

Hookfang reared back his head. Before Snotlout could react, Hookfang had snatched the boy up in his jaws. And there Snotlout stayed, probably not enjoying the smell of dragon breath. Hiccup had smelled enough in his experiences helping Gobber work on dragon teeth to know exactly what it smelled like. Stink dragon scent was like a fresh yak manure pile, but dragon breath smelled like that combined with sulfur and decaying fish.

Hiccup climbed off of Toothless’s back. Toothless crooned and sniffed at Hiccup’s leg. It had been a long, rough flight, and sometimes it hurt after them.

“It’s not that bad, bud,” he said, scratching his dragon behind his ear flaps. It really didn’t hurt that badly; he was suffering more from saddle sore than phantom limb aches.

“I know an island,” Fishlegs began, stretching his legs, “that has some really nice hot springs. Dragons love hot water. Relaxes their muscles, though these ones are much too hot for us Vikings.”

“Have you tried?” Ruffnut asked.

Fishlegs laughed somewhat incredulously. “Vikings who go into those hot springs have their flesh melted off.”

“Sounds relaxing to me,” Tuffnut replied, raising a hand lazily from where he’d sprawled across Belch’s neck.

“Good idea, Fishlegs,” Astrid said. “I was going to take Stormfly to this mountain stream, but I’m sure she’d like that much better.”

A squawk from said Deadly Nadder confirmed that she liked the idea of having the stink boiled away.

“Hookfang doesn’t deserve hot springs.” Snotlout’s voice was muffled, him still hanging in his dragon’s mouth with new trails of drool running down his clothes. He’d somehow managed to cross his arms regardless.

Hookfang retaliated by giving him a gentle shake.

Astrid turned to Hiccup. “Hiccup, are you going too? It’d be a good place to bathe Toothless.”

“Don’t say it!” Hiccup said, but it was too late.

Toothless’s head rocketed up, ears pricked and eyes wide as he seemed to process what he’d just heard. Seconds later, there were no Night Furies on the docks, just a black dot scrambling up the cliffs, wings beating frantically as he tried to climb away from his problems. The only evidence he’d ever been by Hiccup’s side was a foul stench in the air that seemed to turn the breeze green.

“What’s his problem?” Ruffnut asked, raising an eyebrow at the retreating figure.

Hiccup sighed. “Toothless hates baths.” He was generally lucky in the fact that dirt was hard to see on a black-scaled dragon and that Toothless generally avoided getting too smelly. Covered in the secretions of a stink dragon, however, Stoick would definitely notice Toothless hadn’t been bathed.

“I’ve never seen any dragon run that fast,” Tuffnut said. He gave a soft whistle of amazement.

“Proof that I’m a better dragon trainer than Hiccup.” Snotlout gave a triumphant laugh. “At least my dragon’s still here.”

Hookfang slowly but deliberately turned around, raised his wings, and flew off.

“Hey, get back there!” Snotlout’s voice was hard to hear from his rapidly vanishing body.

“Should we do something about that?” Ruffnut asked, pointing at the red dot slowly approaching the horizon.

“If he’s not back here within the hour, we’ll send a search party after him.” Astrid shook her head and turned to Hiccup. “Do you want help with him?” She glanced in the direction that Toothless had retreated.

Hiccup shrugged. “Nah, I’ll be fine.”  _I hope._  He really didn’t want to drag her into his mess. She’d have enough on her hands with Stormfly. “I just have to outsmart him.”

“Hiccup, he’s a Night Fury.” Fishlegs spoke like Hiccup had forgotten the basics of smithing. “They’re, like, the epitome of a Strike Class dragon. You know, the smartest?”

Hiccup gave him a smile that he hoped oozed confidence. Judging by everyone’s expressions, he’d failed. “Don’t worry,” he said. “I’ll find a way somehow.”

* * *

The first thing Hiccup had to deal with was finding a way to get Stoick to let him into the house.

“By Odin’s beard,” Stoick said, scowling at his son. He was holding Hiccup at arm’s length, clasping the back of his tunic with his thumb and forefinger. “What in Midgard did you roll in? The manure pile?”

“I didn’t roll in anything,” Hiccup said, trying not to shrug in case his tunic ripped. “A stink dragon spewed its, well, stink, at me.” He’d been rather lucky, too; Toothless had taken the brunt of the stink. Not all the other riders had been so lucky. Snotlout had even gotten some up his nose. 

Stoick scowled. “Hiccup, there are some dragons that you should ask yourself if you  _should_  train them rather than if you can.” He set Hiccup back on his feet. While he wasn’t rough about it, he wasn’t treating Hiccup as fractured glass either.

Hiccup guessed that he shouldn’t admit he’d mostly wanted to observe stink dragons because he was curious about them.

“But, Dad,” he said instead. “Imagine if we had some. Do you think Alvin would be so willing to invade Berk if he had to deal with this?” He pulled at a corner of his clothes as proof.

Stoick wrinkled his nose and took a giant step back. “No,” he admitted, “but would the Hooligans?” He sighed and pinched his nose. “We can discuss this after you’ve washed that stink out, and burned your clothes.”

“It’s not that bad,” Hiccup said. “A couple washes and a night hanging out to dry and I think I’ll get most of it out.”

The look on Stoick’s face seemed to state that he didn’t believe this would be true.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go make plans on how to bathe Toothless.”

Stoick groaned. “Don’t tell me they got him too.”

“Yup,” Hiccup said, stressing the p.

Stoick prodded Hiccup in the chest. “You find a way to get every whiff of stench off that dragon, or he sleeps outside.” And with that, he was marching out the door. “And get into some fresh clothes before you do anything else!”

“Okay, Dad,” Hiccup said to the closing door.

He marched up the stairs and slumped at his desk, staring at the blank papers that sat before him, waiting to have the basics of a plan written out.

“Where to begin?” Hiccup realized he had no idea, and groaned.

* * *

Hiccup would like to say he had a complicated plan that’d catch his Night Fury by complete surprise and could be used multiple times, when a bath became necessary.

What he had, however, was a bucket and towels hidden in the cove, and the hope that Toothless would be too sleepy and ready for his nap that he wouldn’t catch on before it was too late.

Hey, his plans couldn’t all be winners.

Hiccup realized that Toothless was coming by the smell that arrived first. It smelled like that cheese he’d once bought off of Trader Johann, only to realize that it smelled like it was something that had curled up and died underneath the floorboards. He nearly gagged before he realized what it was and turned to face the skylight. Framed by the night sky above, his best friend was barely visible.

“Hey, bud,” he said, lifting his hand slightly off the desktop in greetings.

Toothless rumbled back, but from the shuffling of claws against wood Hiccup assumed he was preparing to leap away in case of any sudden moves to bathe him.

“Don’t worry, Toothless,” Hiccup said, grinning at him. “You win. I’m not bathing you tonight, you smelly reptile.”

Toothless snorted, sounding triumphant, and a second later there was a thud from his bed. The room briefly lit up with purplish-white flame before it once again succumbed to darkness that Hiccup’s candle was too small to fight.

Hiccup blinked, suddenly aware of just how gummy and swollen his eyes felt. Had he really stayed awake that late? He hadn’t been aware of just how long he’d been writing about what he and his friends had learned about stink dragons.

He closed the book for the moment and blew out the candle. He then walked over to bed, removed his prosthetic and sock, and slumped down, not even bothering to cover himself with his blanket. If he noticed that he hadn’t changed out of the clothes that’d been splashed by stink dragon stench, he was much too tired to do anything about it.

* * *

The next day, Operation: Bath Time was in full effect.

Not that anyone really would’ve suspected it, since Hiccup and Toothless were not making any efforts to go into any body of water, but rather racing through the sky at full speed.

“Yeah! Faster, bud!” Hiccup could barely hear his own voice over the howling of the wind, but he didn’t mind. Flowing with the movements of Toothless beating his wings and shifting with the wind, feeling the full brunt of the wind tearing at his hair, Hiccup felt free.

It also didn’t hurt that the wind tore stink dragon scent away too fast for Hiccup to smell it.

Somehow, Toothless seemed to manage to pick up speed at Hiccup’s shout.

Hiccup smiled. His plan was working perfectly.

He shifted his weight to the side, and Toothless banked sharply. Even Hiccup, who’d grown up in the forge making weapons that felt heavier than him, struggled to keep himself from slamming into his dragon from the momentum.

Hiccup had so much fun putting Toothless through his paces that he almost turned Toothless around straight for their house.

Then he got a whiff of nose-curdling stench and he remembered just why he’d been flying hard around the island.

“What do you say, bud?” Hiccup asked. “We take a nap in the cove?” He knew it’d be appealing; it was closer than the village from where they were, and it was quiet and peaceful. Hopefully, that would lull Toothless into a sleep deep enough so that Hiccup could at least splash some water over him.

Toothless, blissfully unaware of Hiccup’s plan, rumbled in agreement and began to bank toward the cove.

The moment Toothless set down, landing gracefully for a several-ton dragon, Hiccup swung off the saddle. He stretched, hoping his muscles wouldn’t hurt too much tomorrow. His muscles seemed to beg to differ.

“Okay, now let’s get that off you,” he said, reaching out toward Toothless’s saddle.

Big mistake.

Toothless stepped back, squinting at Hiccup and rumbling with suspicion. Hiccup kicked himself. He never took off Toothless’s flying harness for quick naps like this, or when both he and Toothless were too tired to bother. While it was uncomfortable for long-term wear, for brief dozes Toothless always seemed content to keep it on and save the trouble of reattaching it later.

“It’ll be more comfortable without that on,” he said, hoping Toothless didn’t see through the plea. It wasn’t like Toothless could escape the cove without his help, but it wasn’t exactly like he could bathe a dragon that was faster than he was, even on foot.

Toothless grumbled, but let Hiccup take off the flying gear. Just to make sure Toothless bought the lie, Hiccup didn’t even try to touch the prosthetic tailfin. He bundled the saddle up and set it to the side.

Toothless stretched before he trotted over to the overhang created by a giant tree’s roots snaking down the cliffs and settled down in its shade. He then spread a large wing, offering Hiccup a place to rest underneath it.

Hiccup smiled and shook his head, internally sweating.  _Does he suspect?_  “Not today, I’m afraid,” he said. “It’s a bit too warm for that today.”

Toothless squinted, but furled his wing and settled down to sleep. Hiccup laid a short distance away, closing his eyes. It took longer than usual, but soon, Toothless’s breaths settled into something longer and deeper as he partook in his favorite pastime: sleep.

Hiccup laid still a few minutes longer, resisting the lull of sleep caused by listening to his best friend snore nearby. After seeing no signs of Toothless waking up beyond his nose twitching every so often, Hiccup slowly got up. He thanked Thor for his idea to oil his prosthetic and make sure there were no squeaks alerting Toothless to the fact that he was getting up.

He very slowly crept over to the crevice in the cove’s walls, where he’d hidden a bucket and a few towels. He left the towels and gently carried the bucket to the lake.

That’s when things got tricky.

It was hard enough scooping water out of the lake without making a great big sloshing sound, but then creeping toward Toothless with a dripping, sloshing bucket? It felt like he was walking the length of Nordrassil instead of just the few feet to his friend.

He paused, an arm’s length away from the slumbering Night Fury. For a moment, Hiccup almost felt bad. Toothless was smiling in his sleep, claws twitching as he chased some unfortunate dream fish.

Then the stench of yak manure settled heavily in Hiccup’s nose like a limpet on a rock, and all guilt vanished.

Hiccup thanked the gods that wet dragons couldn’t breathe fire and threw the water at Toothless.

Hiccup must’ve blinked somewhere, because one minute Toothless was slumbering peacefully where the water was arcing, shimmering in the sunlight, and the next there was a mud puddle and no dragon. Said dragon was lying several feet away from where he’d been, eyes narrowed accusingly.

Hiccup was suddenly very aware that he had no water left in the bucket, and that Vikings were very flammable.

“Hey, bud,” Hiccup said. He hoped that lopsided smile he felt cross his face would make Toothless feel guilty about plasma blasting him to smithereens.

Toothless snorted, and suddenly the dragon was on his feet. Hiccup blinked as the dragon whisked past him, taking in the fact that his hands felt so much lighter than before.

“Toothless!” He shouted, and, no longer caring about the fact that he was against a dragon much faster and stronger than he was, gave chase. “You are getting a bath, like it or not!”

Toothless ran for the lake, and Hiccup could only imagine Toothless hurling the bucket out into the middle of the lake, irretrievable. Therefore, he was confused as Toothless veered to run alongside its shores, until he realized that the dragon had his head lowered to fill the bucket.

Before Hiccup could do anything, if anything could be done, Toothless threw his head back, releasing the bucket. The water arced in a shining, sparkling ribbon in the air, curling as the bucket spun and twirled over Hiccup’s head.

 _A Night Fury never misses._  Gobber’s words echoed in Hiccup’s mind as the ribbon came closer and closer to him.

And then the full force of the water hit Hiccup. It didn’t really hurt, but the water itself was freezing, causing him to instantly shiver like it was winter and he’d been out in the snow.

There seemed to be no sound from the rest of the world. Even the birds seemed to have stopped singing. All that hadn’t retreated was the steady dripping of droplets running off his hair and clothes and dripping onto the ground and the gloating laughs of one particularly smug Night Fury.

Hiccup tried to sweep the hair out of his eyes, but it drooped back over his face. “Oh, so that’s how it’s going to be, huh?” he asked the Night Fury.

The dragon dropped into a crouch, wagging his tail. Beneath his bared fangs seemed to be a playful challenge. Whoever got the most drenched lost, and neither of them liked to lose.

Hiccup made the spring to the bucket. Toothless may have been the fastest, but Hiccup was closer, and had a head start. He somehow managed to snag the handle without tripping or missing, and veered toward the lake. He then realized how pointless that was as he drew a bucketful of water up and realized that Toothless was now sitting across the lake, barking out a triumphant challenge.

 _You’re on,_  Hiccup thought, and lurched toward him.

From then on, it seemed to be a game of cat and mouse, if the cat had the motivation of the twins when it came to doing helpful things and the mouse knew it. Toothless didn’t even bother running away from Hiccup. He’d just sit, smirking, as Hiccup nearly came close enough to get him, and then he’d leisurely trot away. However, Hiccup persisted. Toothless would have to get tired or bored sometime, right?

Maybe so, but unfortunately for Hiccup, Vikings did too, and faster than dragons. Finally, with a defeated sigh, he set the bucket down and flopped onto his back, squinting up at the pale blue sky.

Heavy footsteps shook the earth and the smell of stink dragon filled Hiccup’s nostrils, seemingly to stay, and a shadow blotted out the sun. Said shadow looked quite draconic.

Hiccup grunted and reached an arm for the bucket, but it flopped uselessly down next to it. His windpipes and muscles were all punishing him for his arrogance for trying to do what no mortal could, he was sure of it.

“I hope you’re happy, you useless reptile,” he wheezed.

Toothless gave Hiccup the smirk. The smirk that Hiccup hated right now with all his heart. It wasn’t like Toothless’s gummy smile, but a simple upturning of the corners of his mouth that announced that he’d won the game after all and would delight in rubbing in his victory by smelling up Hiccup’s room for as long as he could avoid bath time.

“Go away and let me sulk in peace.”

Just then, another shape drew into his sight. Hiccup’s eyes widened. “Oh no, Toothless, don’t you–”

With the tip of his tail, Toothless oh-so-gently tipped the bucket, pouring the remnants of water over Hiccup’s face and turning the ground beneath his head to mud, which was surely now oozing into his hair.

“–dare,” Hiccup completed weakly.

Now  _he_  was the one needing the bath.

“Now that’s it!” Hiccup said, leaping onto his feet. Splats of mud flew everywhere, one speck even landing on Toothless’s nose as to rub in that that dragon was still unbathed, and that Hiccup’s heroic attempts to change that fact had only succeeded in giving himself more work.

Hiccup ignored the stiffness in his muscles and hurled himself at the dragon, barreling into his shoulder in an attempt to get him into the lake. It was like trying to push all of the island to warmer oceans. He changed tack and tried to drag Toothless into the water by his tail, only to receive that annoying smirk again.

Hiccup didn’t even have time to prepare. The tail in his grasp pulled free, and stumbled and fell from the yank. Before he could hit the ground, he felt his feet yanked out from under him. He felt the familiar pull in his stomach that came with flying. He glanced up–no, down–and saw water beneath him.

Hiccup’s eyes widened with realization and said, “Oh, no Toothless, no, no–”

Toothless ducked his head to face his unwilling passenger and gave him the toothless smile that earned him his name. Hiccup only had time to absorb this before the claws gripping his ankle and fake leg let go, plunging him headfirst into the deepest part of the lake.

Hiccup was stunned for a moment. It felt like he’d crashed again, only the ground gave. The roaring of wind was replaced by stillness beyond a tickling feeling over his face and a soft hissing in his ears.

 _I’m underwater,_  he realized, and then it hit him. Toothless had dropped him into the lake.

 _That does it!_ He was giving Toothless a bath if it was the last thing he did.

Hiccup managed to get back to the surface of the water. It took him a moment to get his bearings and find Toothless on the shore, smirking at him.

Rage fueled Hiccup as he half-swam, half-flailed toward shore in an attempt to get over and avenge himself. The moment his feet touched bottom, he was scooping up as much water as he could in his skinny little arms and splashing it toward the dragon.

“You! Are! Taking! A! Bath!” Hiccup punctuated this by one last giant splash, but it missed by a mile. Toothless laughed and ran back to the other side of the lake, right where they’d left the bucket.

Hiccup tore off in pursuit, but Toothless made no move to escape. He wasn’t even trying to get the bucket, which was next to him.

 _Why?_  Hiccup had no idea why Toothless was making no effort to fill the bucket or even play keepaway with it.

Then he remembered the mud puddle that Toothless had made when he’d spilled it.

“Toothless, don’t!” he cried.

Toothless narrowed his eyes and slowly tilted over until he fell. Then, eyes never leaving Hiccup’s, he began to roll in the mud.

Hiccup tossed himself at him–he didn’t know why, because he certainly didn’t expect to move him–but the dragon surprisingly rolled with his shove, which caused Hiccup to fall face-first into the mud puddle.

Hiccup wiped the goo away from his eyes with his tunic sleeve before squinting at the reptile, eyeing him with mock innocence.

“This doesn’t just mean war, I hope you know,” he said, taking slow, deliberate steps toward his dragon. “I’m declaring a blood feud!”

Toothless burbled, like he didn’t even care.

Hiccup tried to tackle the dragon, but if was learning something today, it was that one should never try and tackle a Night Fury. Toothless didn’t even try to sidestep. Hiccup slammed into a solid wall of scale, leaving a giant face-shaped blob of mud on Toothless’s neck.

Hiccup stepped back and scowled, waving a finger in Toothless’s face. “Okay, mister wise guy, we can do this the hard way or the easy way.”

Toothless twitched an ear.

“The easy way is to hop in the water and wash until you get that stench off you.” Hiccup didn’t expect that to appeal.

The sound Toothless made proved him right.

“The hard way is I get my dad to bathe you.” And Stoick probably could; taller even than other Vikings looming at seven feet, Stoick had grown a lot in size and strength since he allegedly barehandedly decapitated a dragon as a baby.

Toothless blinked, and trotted slowly toward the lake, grumbling in protest.

 _I didn’t expect him not to try and call my bluff,_  Hiccup thought, watching the dragon trudge toward the lake as if it were full of eels. But it worked, and Hiccup sent up prayers to all the gods.

With one last grunt, Toothless sat beside the lake. The only part of him taking a bath was his tailfin, which trailed off into the shallows.

Hiccup narrowed his eyes. “All of you.”

Toothless grumbled and rolled his eyes. Hiccup barely saw him stand up before the dragon’s tail rocketed out of the water.

Hiccup managed to throw up his arm before he was even aware of the blob of mud flying off the tailfin. The impact sent him reeling backwards and he fell to the ground, feeling more mud seep into his hair.

He moved his arm from his face, taking in what had just happened. He felt like he had buried his head in the bottom of a lake. Which was accurate, because Toothless seemed to have found all of the lake’s floor and thrown it at him.

And, he realized, looking down, his face wasn’t the only thing caught in the blast. His tunic, his leggings, even some of his boots were covered in mud, twigs, brown leaves, and other stuff.

“Thank you,” Hiccup said, rolling his eyes at the dragon bouncing at his feet. “Just what I wanted, an excuse to take a bath.”

_Big mistake._

Hiccup wished he could feel surprised when he was once again flown out into the middle of the lake and dropped, but all that accompanied him as he plunged like a stone into its waters was resignation.

 _At least I’ve gotten the worst of the mud away,_  Hiccup thought as he surveyed himself, treading water. The muck in his clothes wasn’t coming off, but his hair and skin felt much less grimy, which was a relief.

Hiccup sighed as he glanced at Toothless, waiting for him on the shore. The grumpiness had long since faded away to excited wiggles and grins as he waited to see Hiccup’s next move.

_How can I get Toothless at least to go in the water?_

The idea that came was dishonest, but after this fiasco of a bathtime Hiccup figured Toothless deserved it.

“Hey, Toothless?” he shouted. “Can you help me to shore? My muscles are hurting right now. We pushed ourselves a little too hard earlier, I think.”

Toothless grumbled, narrowing his eyes. He wasn’t moving.

“My leg hurts, too.” That was a lie, at least partially. It hurt from the exercise, sure, but not the searing pain that sometimes made it too hard for him to leave bed.

Toothless’s face relaxed slightly. The big softy always fell for the leg trick.

Now the obedient dragon he was in everything else, Toothless dove into the water and swam up to Hiccup. Hiccup easily pulled himself up onto his back.

“Thanks, bud,” he said. He patted his dragon to disguise the fact that he was trying to wipe away a particularly stubborn clump of dirt.

Toothless paused, and Hiccup blinked. The dragon was still standing knee-deep in water.

“Toothless?” He didn’t even manage to finish the question before Toothless’s shoulders slanted underneath him, and he plunged into the lake once more.

Hiccup sat back up, sending water flying in all directions. “Oh, I see!” Not literally, with his hair in his face, a curtain of water pouring out from it.

Hiccup began splashing his dragon, and he was delighted to see that Toothless couldn’t dodge from right next to him. But Toothless didn’t choose to stay and get splashed. Two bounds, and he was in water almost higher than his head while standing on his hind feet. But that, it turned out, was right where he wanted to be.

Hiccup soon realized the futility of trying to throw water with his hands as Toothless beat his wings. He’d heard sailors talk of legendary storms that skimmed the tops off waves and hurled them into boats, and Toothless was determined to live up to those legends. Hiccup felt more like he was underwater than standing in the air.

The water/mud fight continued. Hiccup couldn’t say how long, but he was torn away from trying to hurl another bucketful of water at Toothless when a squawk caught his attention. He dropped the bucket on the ground and spun to face Astrid. She and Stormfly were standing on the edge of the cove. Stormfly was eyeing the two warily, while Astrid had her hands on her hips and had raised an eyebrow at Hiccup.

Hiccup became highly aware that his clothes were stained a dark brown from mud, and he had a stick poking out from his hair at a weird angle. 

“Astrid!” he said, feeling his cheeks prickle with a blush. “What are you doing here?”

“Hiccup, we got back from bathing our dragons hours ago,” Astrid said. “I thought you might need a hand with him–” she gave a sharp nod at Toothless, who grumbled resentfully “–and thought you’d bring him here for a bath.” She seemed to glare at the twig somewhat incredulously. “I didn’t think you’d be having a mud fight with him.”

“He started it.” Hiccup realized that sounding like a three-year-old wasn’t impressing anyone, even if it was true that Toothless started it.

She narrowed her eyes. “And I’m sure you had nothing to do with all this.” She gestured at Hiccup and Toothless.

Hiccup shook his head, trying not to laugh or grin, and failing. “You just gestured to all of us.”

“Exactly.”

“So you came over here to help me clean Toothless?” Hiccup asked, pulling himself free from the lake water and goop that formed the lake floor. “Bit late for that.”

She looked them both over. “I can see that. Should I tell your father you’ll be out a bit later than you thought?”

Hiccup shook his head, splattering water everywhere. “Nah. He’s as clean as he’s getting.”

Toothless grumbled somewhat impressively for a dragon that didn’t want to go in the water in the first place and waddled ashore, a trail of water pouring off of him. The moment he was on dry ground, he shook himself, creating a small rain shower around Stormfly and the two dragon riders.

With an outraged squawk, Stormfly began chasing after Toothless, who only took off on foot with a grin. After some half-hearted scolding from their riders, who were trying and failing to hold back their laughter, the two settled down after one last good-natured snap at each other.

“I’ll tell your dad you’re on your way home,” Astrid said as she clambered aboard her saddle.

“Thanks, Astrid.” He grinned up at her.

She nodded and nudged Stormfly’s side, and a second later there was only a rush of air and fading wingbeats in her wake.

As they walked toward the other side of the cove to grab Toothless’s saddle, Hiccup darted over toward the cove’s exit, pulling out the towels from where he’d hidden them. Thankfully, they’d stayed clean and dry somehow throughout the entire war.

“You know,” Hiccup said, rejoining Toothless, “I was going to share these with you.” He gave the towel a little shake, flaunting it. “But they’re only for good dragons. I’m revoking your towel rights.”

Toothless grumbled, and Hiccup went to pat his hair dry.

A second later, the towels had been ripped from his hands and were slipping into the rippling orange depths of the lake, never to be seen again.

“Real mature, Toothless,” Hiccup said. Hopefully his dad didn’t like those towels too much.

Hiccup and Toothless had to do a whole lap of the island to dry off, but that wasn’t a real tragedy. Hiccup found himself sighing in happiness, face hurting at his smile. His clothes would never be the same again, and he probably had a lecture about losing towels and dirtying clothes to look forward to, but it was worth it.

A contented purr from Toothless said that the dragon had similar sentiments. Well, except for the lecture. And the clothes.

Useless dragon.

Hiccup made sure his hair was nice and dry so he wouldn’t drip water in the house before landing Toothless by the front door. Stoick must’ve been waiting, as he swung the door open the moment Toothless set down. He looked at Hiccup, who realized he looked like he’d crawled out of a swamp but at least had lost the stick in his hair.

“Gods, boy, did you bathe Toothless or crawl out of a swamp?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“It’s a long story, Dad,” Hiccup said, hoping Stoick wouldn’t insist on hearing it. He doubted Stoick would want to hear about the mudfight.

“You’re filthier than Snotlout in a dry spell!” Stoick shoved Hiccup back out the door. “Go and clean up before you come in here!”

With that, the door closed with a solid thud.

Hiccup felt the gaze of two excited eyes on his back.

“Oh, no,” he said, just before he felt something clamp on the back of his tunic.

The ground flashed beneath him, turning from stone to dirt to wood until finally there was nothing but ocean waves below him and the orange sky above.

Hiccup rose, spluttering, to the ocean’s surface, and floundered until he saw Toothless, sitting on the docks and smiling triumphantly.

“Yeah, I admit it. You win.” Hiccup couldn’t even find it in himself to glare. “Now do you mind getting me out?”

Toothless jumped out off the docks, wings spread wide, and Hiccup barely managed to hold his breath before the dragon did a belly flop in the water next to him, sending him out further into the ocean in the resulting wave.

“Or not.”

**Author's Note:**

> Constructive criticism is welcomed!


End file.
